An old friend is giving me his Hobie Cat 16, and I need to move it from Saugatuck MI to Chicago. I don't have a trailer and I can't afford to buy a new one. I've been trying to find one to rent or borrow. Any advice?

Wait for the ice to go off lake MI and sail it over, would be fun but probably not your best move.. Ok , maybe some real help for a one time move just look for any kind of trailer , get two 4X4 and use a U bolt to atach them across the trailer , make a little wooden saddle on each one and put some old carpet on them and you have a cat trailer. I did this with a speed boat trailer and then a small fishing boat trailer for my H16 and used them for years before I got a newer H18 with a nice trailer. I also bolted a 4x4 to the post that held the winch on the front of the trailers to hold the mast up above the car like the real cat trailers do.

What do you have for a vehicle? If a pickup truck, I'd just disassemble the boat and put it in the bed. Car and you could do it in two trips with it on the roof if disassembled. A utility trailer will work. The boat should weigh less then 400 pounds.

not mine, looks like a PVC front mast support is in order ( google )…. but i've seen lots of crazy ways to move a H16. They disassemble easily then you can use you imagination Theres a pic floating around somewhere with several H16's all apart and on top of different cars lol. If you we're anywhere near me in Memphis i'd let you use my trailer in a heartbeat Tim

That's a picture of me and my kids, 15 years ago. I thought I was the only one that had it. We called it the one with the most toys wins. Hobie 16, Hobie Hawk, Hobie kayak, bikes and a wife taking the picture. We hauled H16 and two kayaks on the roof for over twelve years.

Wait for the ice to go off lake MI and sail it over, would be fun but probably not your best move.. Ok , maybe some real help for a one time move just look for any kind of trailer , get two 4X4 and use a U bolt to atach them across the trailer , make a little wooden saddle on each one and put some old carpet on them and you have a cat trailer. I did this with a speed boat trailer and then a small fishing boat trailer for my H16 and used them for years before I got a newer H18 with a nice trailer. I also bolted a 4x4 to the post that held the winch on the front of the trailers to hold the mast up above the car like the real cat trailers do.

Jay

Can you post a picture of what the saddles would look like? This might work for me.

I will try to get a picture, not sure how to post it on here but can e mail it to you with the address you have listed here.. I still have that trailer but its not road worthy right now . I made pretty simple wooden saddles out of a 4x4 , just cut a v shapd notch in a pice of 4x4 that matched the hull close, then screwed it to the 4x4s running across the trailer and put carpet on them. It was for a H 16 so didnt have to be very wide like it would for a rounder hull shape.

Hello, all. A quick search for Hobie 16' trailers led me to this thread. I've recently come to own a Hobie 16' under the condition that I produce a trailer and haul down to AL from VA. All I have is a truck at my disposal so I'm in a similar situation to the OP. Ya'll are saying I could simply retrofit a rented U-haul trailer with some 4x4's and carpet?

I would think you could do that if its a long enough trailer, with a short one you really have to watch your turning radius. The mast is really the harder part. I hauled the mast on the roof rack of my suv once but the spread on the rack is not long enough to do that safe for a long rd trip. I will send you the pictures of the trailer with the 4x4s on it, maybe it will give you an idea. Might be some way to clamp or bolt a mast tower to the uhal trailer.Jay